Haunted House
by Draconic-Master
Summary: Aerith(My OC) and the Yugioh gang go into a haunted house for a little bit of fun. What happens instead is completely different then what they expected... Rated for cussing and a kiss or two a little KaibaOC & he may act a little OC.(COMPLETE)
1. A Couple Screams

Basically, this is a haunted house thing that I did in 8th grade and I decided to put it into a Yu-gi-oh format, trading (on my couple of sheets) the fictional characters for the Yu-gioh cast. Here's hoping you have a blast reading it!

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DraconicMaster(DM cos I'll get tired of typing DraconicMaster over and over again): Say hello to my very, very first story here!  
  
Aerith(my main OC pretty much): For good reason... /rolls eyes/  
  
DM: /glares at Aerith/ Kaiba? Disclaimer?  
  
Kaiba: Aw hell, fine! DraconicMaster doesn't own Yu-gi-oh or  
  
Aerith: But she **does** own me and her writings... /grins evilly at Kaiba/  
  
Kaiba: Leave me- /Eyes DM for a second/ I'll sick her on you! Technically she can't do anything to me but she **can** make you disappear!  
  
DM: **Who** says I can't do anything to you? Evil grin  
  
Kaiba: I didn't say anything! /Acting innocent/

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Chapter 1- A Couple Screams 

"Like a house can **really** be haunted..." Kaiba said, looking up at the house. It was very dreary and seemed to glare down at everyone.

"And you've never believed a ghost story in your whole life?" Aerith snapped back. He shrugged.

"When I was a whole lot younger, sometimes." He replied.

"Kaiba, young? Yeah right..." Joey muttered but Kaiba heard. He quickly nailed the back of Joey's head with his hand, "Ow! What'd you do that for?" Kaiba shook his head, feigning pity. Aerith burst out in loud laughter. She got stares from the rest of the gang.

"What?" She asked, looking back, her laughter stopped. They all shook their heads and turned away, heading towards the 'haunted' house. Kaiba let a couple of laughs escape him and received a stare from Aerith.

"What are you looking at?" He said sharply. Aerith smiled and ran off after the others.

"Hey! Don't leave me with the nutcase!" She called after them, grinning from ear to ear.

"Nutcase?! Who are you calling a nutcase, Aerith?!" Kaiba ran after her, shouting curses.

The gang stepped inside, Aerith and Kaiba not speaking to each other. No one could do anything about it either. They looked around for a second. Stairs led up to a second floor but it was roped off, along with the hallway to their right. 

"Doesn't look so 'haunted' to me..." Kaiba muttered, looking down the dusty corridors for a second. Another hallway led off to their left while two paths went around the stairs. Aerith took a step forward, snickering slightly. A scream echoed through the house and Aerith leapt back, onto Kaiba, and they both tumbled to the ground. Téa gave a shriek of fright and ran back towards the door.

"I didn't know you were so close behind me..." Aerith said to Kaiba finally. She helped him to his feet.

"I wasn't, you jumped back seven feet or so..." He replied, rubbing his neck.

"The doors won't open!" Téa nearly shrieked.

"Huh?" Aerith said, looking towards them. She sighed, "Téa, you just probably aren't strong enough to open them..." She walked over and pulled on them with one hand. They didn't budge. She pulled again with both hands, a confused look on her face. They still didn't give. Finally, she placed both feet on either side of the door and pulled for all she was worth. She dropped to the ground after a bit, "I think I strained something..." Kaiba snickered at her.

"I'll try." Joey said and backed up a bit before running full-speed at the door. It moved a little but still didn't open. Joey staggered to the ground, "Ow... my arm." Kaiba gave a sigh before stepping up. He quickly brought one leg up, just about to his chest and kicked the door. The doors really rattled this time but still didn't give.

"What the hell?" He said and backed up a couple of feet before nailing it again with his foot. They rattled even more but didn't budge for the most part. He stared at them for a second before shaking his head, "That can't be natural wood and locks..."

"Why don't we all pull on it at the same time?" Yugi offered, looking around. There was a slight murmur of agreement. Aerith got up from the ground and stretched before cracking her neck and fingers.

"All right, I'm ready." She said, looking with determination at the doors. She didn't see everyone staring at her until she looked around, "What?"

"Dat's just creepy..." Joey said and walked over towards the door.

"What is?" Aerith asked, confused.

"Cracking your neck... it sounds like you're... breaking it." Yugi said; he still had a grimace on his face before he shook it away, "Whose going to be at the door?" Everyone looked at him. He shrugged. After a bit, they had everybody in line. Yugi was first, at the doors, Téa behind him, Joey after her, Tristan after him, Aerith, then finally at the back Kaiba. He really didn't want to have anything to do with it but Aerith convinced him otherwise. Yugi got a firm hold on the doorknobs, "All right, pull!" After a minute they were still pulling.

"Shouldn't the damn thing be open by fucking now?!" Aerith yelled, feeling her hands slipping from Tristan. She didn't get an answer. Suddenly Yugi's hands slipped on the handles and everyone went toppling backwards. Since he was at the back, Kaiba was on the bottom of the pile.

"Get the hell off me Aerith!" He shouted. Aerith had gotten turned around slightly and they lay face to face.

"I've got four fucking people on me, how do you expect me to do that?!" She shouted back, trying to keep away from him. A suddenly elbow in the back stopped that and she was suddenly looking Kaiba straight in the eye, "Oops..." She whispered. They stared blankly for a second before someone pulled Aerith up from on top of him. He lay there for a second before leaping up to his feet.

"All right, what the hell do we do now?" He snapped. Téa screamed again, starring up the stairs. Kaiba raised an eyebrow slightly before turning around. His mouth dropped open slightly. There was a young woman coming down the stairs, her brown hair went down gently past her shoulders, she was barefoot and wore a long, probably silk, dress and oval-like glasses.

"She's a fucking ghost..." Aerith said, a bit of awe in her voice. She was completely right as the woman reached the foot of the stairs, a black candle in her hand, where Kaiba was standing, completely open-mouthed at her. She held the candle out and walked straight through him without a problem, candle going over his shoulder. He staggered backwards after a second.

"What- what the hell's going on?" He asked, staring after her. Aerith shook her head.

"And you don't believe in ghosts?" She asked.

"I might now!" Kaiba shouted back.

"Follow me please." The woman said, looking up at them. They could see a long cut across her throat, it had to have been slit before she was killed. Aerith shivered slightly. She smiled at them and Aerith gave a sigh. She pulled Kaiba to his feet and started towards the ghost.

"Where are you going?" Kaiba yelled at her. Aerith turned and walked backwards for a bit.

"I figure that there can't be any harm in this, I mean after all, this is an **amusement park** haunted house, isn't it?" She answered, shrugging.

"What if it isn't?" He asked, his eyes narrowing slightly.

"Then I'm dead. Either way, I'm not going to stand around and let any killers kill me in front of the door there." Aerith replied and turned back around, "I'm gonna find a way out of here." Kaiba looked at the door for a second then Aerith before following. The ghost looked slightly happier and led the two of them down the hall.

"She's a real ghost, right?" Kaiba whispered to Aerith as they followed the spirit.

"Yeah, she's floating... half a foot or so off the floor..." Aerith rolled her eyes, "Then again she could just be holograms, like projected from a duel disk."

"You think I've got something to do with this?" He asked her, keeping his voice slightly low. Aerith shook her head.

"No, I don't think so, or else you wouldn't have been shocked when she walked through you." Aerith replied.

"I've got the feeling that this was a bad idea..." He suddenly muttered.

"So do I, but I'm dealing. I figure that it can't be that bad." She said back, shrugging again. The woman leading them suddenly stopped and smiled bigger, showing a few teeth. The two of them turned around and saw the rest of the group coming down the hall after them. They managed to catch up and the woman kept walking.

"This way please." She said. Suddenly the hall opened up into a big room with pictures all over the walls. The group stepped into the middle of the room and looked about. The woman smiled again before stepping up to a picture, holding the candle up towards it.

"What's she doin'?" Joey asked.

"I think we're about to get our history lesson..." Kaiba muttered, giving a sigh.

"All work and no play, huh?" Aerith snickered.

"Shut up."

"This is David Vladimir, the founder of this building." The man in the picture looked very stern, especially because he was dressed like some army general or something like that.

"Look, it's you Kaiba." Aerith joked and got a couple of laughs out of everyone. Kaiba glared at her.

"Unfortunately, when he was thirty-six, he seems to have killed himself, execution-style with one bullet from a Colt revolver to the head." Aerith's laughs turned into loud, barking coughs. Everyone else quickly stopped their laughs and went slightly pale. The woman continued nonetheless, "His wife, Isabella, is pictured here next to him. She inherited this place after his death and lived in it for a few more years before she also died. They found her lying on her bathroom floor, both wrists slit open." The second picture the spirit was holding the candle up to, had a beautiful woman in it, looking very relaxed.

"Ain't she pretty..." Joey murmured and Téa elbowed him in the stomach, "Ugh!" Aerith broke out into snickers.

"The next picture is of David Vladimir's son-in-law and his daughter." The son-in-law was very handsome, even by today's standards, while his wife looked like a mix of mother and father, stern yet relaxed. Aerith slightly nudged Téa and nodded towards the picture, smiling. They both giggled. The apparition looked back up at the photo, "The son-in-law is Joseph Stowe and his wife is Catherine."

"What wuz dat for?" Joey asked the two girls. Aerith shook her head.

"Nothing..." She glanced at Téa who caught her glance before they burst out into laughs again.

"Both were murdered in this place." The girls stopped their laughs suddenly and stared, "The next one is Joseph and Catherine's only son, Ray Stowe, who did not marry and left all his possessions to his favorite nephew, whom you will see in the next mural." Téa and Aerith looked at each other, the mural of Ray Stowe, then at each other again. They giggled once again. Kaiba looked at them for a second before shaking his head.

"Shut up Aerith." He muttered, nailing Aerith in the side with his elbow. She gave a yelp of pain, called him a jerk, and stomped on his foot, "OW!" He yelled out. Another round of snickers came and he glared at everyone.

"Ray's nephew is Jonathan McClellan, pictured here with his wife and niece. His wife, Michelle, was never able to bear children and Jonathan's brother and brother's wife died, so he adopted their niece, Nancy." The specter continued, smiling oddly, "A few people on the street, said to be business associates of Jonathan, came into their house one night and murdered everyone except for Nancy and her pet cat, Lara. The two of them hid in a vent in Nancy's parent's room. Michelle was raped once or twice before she was killed and Jonathan was killed soon after, made to watch the rape of his wife. Nancy saw it all and ever afterwards had a twisted look on life. She had only one child and threw herself off of the roof of this building at age thirty-three." A few members of the group looked sick. The phantom didn't seem to care though and went on, "This is a painting of Nancy and her daughter, Robin, along with a couple of her cats."

A long while later, the group was on their last four or five pictures when all of a sudden, the phantom stopped, looking towards the front hall, starring with a horrified look in her eyes. Aerith looked down the hall for a second.

"Uh... Ma'am... what's wrong?" She asked after a second.

"Ma'am?" Kaiba asked her, a slight smirk on his face.

"It was the only thing I could think of!" Aerith hissed back.

"... He's back..." The ghost whispered, never taking her eyes off of the hall.

"Who's back?!" Téa cried out. Suddenly, the apparition vanished and the candle she had been holding fell to the ground, starting a small fire. Joey, Tristan, and Yugi leapt forwards and started stamping out the flames. Aerith looked down the hall and something caught her eye.

"Huh?" She said out-loud, drawing Kaiba's attention to her.

"What the hell are you looking at?" He snapped at her.

"I saw something down there; I'm gonna go check it out." Aerith said, starting towards the hall.

"Not without me. You've got a knack for trouble." Kaiba started after her.

"Saw something, gonna go check it out!" Aerith yelled to the rest of the group and the two teenagers ran off down the hall.

Aerith stopped for a second in the main hall, peering around the room. Kaiba stood beside her.

"So?" He asked and they both looked down the taped off hall. A flash of movement caught their eyes. They looked at each other for a second, "You planned this didn't you?"

"Didn't know a thing about it." Aerith replied starting towards the hall. She paused to pull the police tape away, "Coming?"

"Yeah." Kaiba answered and started down the hall after her. They ended up in a sitting room and they looked around for a second. Aerith walked into the room and saw a man on the stairs; he was close to the top and almost out of sight.

"Hey!" She yelled at him. Kaiba came up and stood beside Aerith, looking up at the man. The person suddenly pulled something from his pocket... something very shiny. He pulled it up and threw it at Aerith. She screamed in fright and then in pain when the knife suddenly was sticking out of her right forearm. She clutched at it as the man started back up the stairs, to the room above. Aerith fell and sat against the wall, her face a mask of pain. Kaiba quickly leaned down beside her and thought for a second.

"Can you move your fingers?" He asked. Aerith looked up at him and then back down at her hand a couple of times. She carefully moved each finger a little, wincing. Blood ran from the wound like a river. Kaiba pulled his jacket sleeve up a little and ripped off a bit of his shirt, "Hold out your arm." Footsteps thundered down the hall towards them. Aerith nervously held out her arm, the knife sticking straight up. He reached up and curled his fingers around the handle, "Ready?" Aerith bit her lip and nodded before squeezing her eyes tightly shut. Kaiba looked at her face to the knife a couple of times before pulling it out. Aerith screamed out in pain again. He threw the knife to the side as the rest of the gang came running in.

"What did you do to her?!" Téa yelled at him.

"He didn't do anything." Aerith said, the pain still clearly on her face, "Some dude on the stairs did this. I yelled 'Hey' at him and he throws a knife at me. Nice greeting, huh?" Kaiba quickly put the ripped shirtsleeve on the wound, tying it around tightly.

"Can you still move your fingers?" He asked and she wiggled them, "Good." He got up and looked at the stairs.

"Are you okay?" Yugi asked Aerith.

"Yeah, everything except my arm and my pride." Aerith replied, getting up, "Thanks to him I can still move my fingers..." She nodded towards Kaiba. She looked at him for a second, "Thanks, I owe you a lot." Kaiba looked away from her.

"Hmph..." was his answer. Aerith laughed slightly while Joey almost ran at him.

"I'll take that as a 'you're welcome' you cold thing..." Aerith laughed. Kaiba started up the stairs.

"You should be more careful." He replied, not even looking at her.

"And that would be a 'yes'." She started up the stairs after him, the rest of the group following her. At the top was an empty room with only a pool table in the center, the walls were painted a bright, dark red. Kaiba took a couple of steps into the room when suddenly something fell from the ceiling. Aerith let a frightened yell pass her lips and Téa screamed in horror. The person from earlier hung from the ceiling, rope tied tightly around his neck. He was limp as he swung back and forth for a second.

"Is he really a dead person?" Yugi asked, looking up at the dead man, eyes wide.

"Looks pretty dead to me." Kaiba said, walking up closer, "His neck snapped when he fell. You break your neck, you die." Aerith shivered slightly and didn't say anything.

"Check." Téa said. Her eyes were wide with horror.

"What?" Kaiba asked, surprised slightly of the demand out of Téa.

"Check to see if he's dead." Téa said, nodding towards the man. Aerith nodded with her.

"Whatever..." Kaiba turned back around to face him, "Hey stupid!"

"What?" Joey asked. Aerith burst out into laughter.

"Not you, mutt." Kaiba sharply said at Joey, "The dead idiot hanging from the ceiling." He gestured towards the man hanging from the ceiling.

"Whoops..." Joey said, quickly looking away, his face flushed.

"He still looks dead." Kaiba said, turning his back to the dead man, shrugging slightly. As he took a step forward, something clasped around his neck. His fingers flew up to get it off but found a hand around his neck.

"I don't think I'm dead..." A raspy voice said. Kaiba was lifted off of the floor and turned around. He found himself looking into the 'dead' man's face. The man's eyes were open and were a crimson color.

"Holy shit!" Joey yelled, seeing what was going on. The group stared blankly for a bit, watching the teenager struggle against the so-called dead person. Kaiba gasped for breath, trying to kick at the person. Not one of his kicks connected. Aerith and Joey suddenly leapt forward and tried to free him. Aerith leapt up on the pool table and tried drawing the man's attention away. Joey tried pulling the man's hands off of Kaiba's neck. He had to be at least a foot off the ground though and Joey had to jump up onto the pool table to help. Tristan quickly ran up as well and leapt up behind the man. He nailed the man in the back of the head and it didn't do anything. Aerith stood for a second before reaching down to her shoes. Joey saw her, "Dis ain't da time ta tie your shoes Aerith!" He shouted at her.

"I'm not!" She shouted back and came back up with her pocketknife. She quickly rammed it straight into the man's arm. He screamed and dropped Kaiba to the ground. Aerith quickly pulled the knife back and leapt off of the pool table, "You stabbed me and I stab you." She commented. Kaiba looked slightly dazed but otherwise fine, Aerith put the pocketknife back into her sock. Tristan also leapt down, turning to look at the dead man. He had gone back to acting or being dead and hung limp again. Aerith walked over closer for a second before pulling the man's hand out from the noose. A loud crack was heard and the man hung limper. Aerith leapt back, her mouth open in horror.

"You just fucking killed him, Aerith..." Kaiba said from the floor in awe, he hadn't gotten up yet. Red marks were etched onto his neck from the man's fingers clutching him too tightly.

"I- I- I didn't- I didn't mean to!" Aerith said, walking backwards away from the dead man, her eyes on him. She reached the stairs and moved her foot backwards towards empty space.

"Aerith!" Joey yelled and Kaiba looked over at her. She was just about to fall down the stairs. His eyes widened slightly, "Someone grab a hold o' her!" Joey shouted, jumping down from the pool table. Aerith suddenly started toppling backwards, "Aerith!" Joey screamed when suddenly Aerith stopped falling and, instead, was yanked forward. She fell to the ground, on top of Kaiba. He had a hand clasped around one of Aerith's but quickly let go.

"Thanks..." Aerith managed out.

"My thanks will be when you get the hell off of me..." Kaiba groaned from Aerith's weight. Aerith got up, staggering a little but just fine. Joey ran over to her and quickly checked to see if she was okay as Kaiba got up from the ground and dusted himself off. Joey turned to look at Kaiba.

"I think you've actually got a conscience in der..." Joey said, grinning slightly. Kaiba glared at him.

"Shut up, Mutt." Kaiba said and walked off, towards the stairs. A scream was suddenly heard and Kaiba froze, his foot almost down to the top step. He stared down the stairs for a bit.

"If everyone's here, then who did that?" Téa asked, fear clearly imprinted on her voice. Everyone was silent.

"Let's go check it out..." Aerith suggested. Kaiba started back down the stairs, Aerith following once again. The four other teenagers looked at each other.

"We should follow them right?" Tristan asked and Téa sighed before starting down the stairs after the other two. Yugi quickly followed her when suddenly another scream was heard, not Aerith's or Téa's though, a woman's nonetheless. Joey and Tristan quickly ran down the stairs after exchanging glances.

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DM: Read and reply please! I'd really appriciate it! Tell me whether it's good or bad and things like that, you know, constructive critisism? All flames will be used to fuel Aerith's temper and you really don't want to do that, she can get real mad...  
  
Aerith: Damn straight I can!  
  
Kaiba: Hell no! Do **not** flame, she'll take all her anger out on me!  
  
DM: Ignore them, read and reply, pretty please? With sugar on top? /puppy-dog eyes/  
  
Aerith and Kaiba: You do **not** need sugar!  
  
DM: A nice review and I'll post the next chapter as soon as I can. My mom doesn't let me go online that much soooo.... Yeah, so if you review and it takes me like a month to get it up, blame my mom.


	2. Seperate

DM: OMG! I love you people!

Kaiba: Is she okay?

Aerith: More than likely... no.

DM: I would love to thank Freak09 for reviewing!

Kaiba: I knew it! She got a reviewer!

Aerith: Shut up. /Shoves Kaiba/

DM: So this chapter is dedicated to my only reviewer!

Aerith and Kaiba: Noooooooo!

DM: /faints with shock/

Kaiba: Is she dead? /Peers down at DM/

Aerith: No, she fainted... and I thought you were smart.

Kaiba: I almost forgot, the disclaimer. DM doesn't own anything except her story, the idea for it, and Aerith./ignoring Aerith/

DM: /drowily/ and my lappy top.

Kaiba: That too. /smirks/ ...lappy top... /sniggers/

Aerith: All right, next chapter.

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Chapter 2- Separate 

"How do we know that it doesn't separate on the other side?" Aerith asked Kaiba, looking very pissed off.

"We don't. That's why we are going to split into two groups." Kaiba told her, looking very ready to knock her to the ground.

"So one group can scare the other?!" Aerith shouted back, her hands balled into fists.

"If someone gets scared, it's not my fault." Kaiba said as Yugi and Téa came up, Joey and Tristan not far behind.

"This is just stupid! You want us to split in-" A third terrified scream stopped Aerith. Her eyes darted to the twin hallways, trying to figure out which one it came from. The rest of the group starred at them, also trying to figure it out.

"Do what you want. I'm going down here." Kaiba said before walking down the second hallway. Aerith glared at him before following.

"You're gonna get yourself killed with that attitude..." She said loudly as she stomped down the hall. The rest of the group shrugged and took the other hall.

"I hope they'll be okay..." Yugi said, listening to the footsteps on the other side of the stairs before they started to fade.

"As long as Aerith's not 'urt, I'm happy." Joey said, grinning slightly.

"I'm not surprised at that..." Tristan muttered and Joey glared at him. They came up around the back of the stairs and saw a wall to their right greeting them with old pictures. They continued walking until they got to a larger room. They stared, looking around at the huge area. A bookcase stared at them from their left and front, a path winded to the right.

"Wow... This place is huge..." Téa said. Her eyes were wide as she looked around.

"It's a library, isn't it?" Yugi asked, trying to look through the shelves.

"I suppose..." Joey gawked openly. _Dis is somethin' dat belongs in Kaiba's mansion..._ he thought. He managed to tear his eyes away from the detailed ceiling before saying, "We'd better get surching." He walked off to the right with Tristan behind him, Yugi and Téa followed soon after. They split up after the right hallway, a direction led to the left, one forward, and one to the right a bit more.

"Who goes where?" Téa asked, looking around.

"I guess we could all split up, there's enough room probably..." Yugi said, shrugging.

"Just in case," Joey started, "Me an' Tristan 'ill go dat way and split; you and Téa go dat way and don't split." He smiled.

"Uh... Didn't understand a word of that Joey..." Tristan said, grinning. Joey glared at him.

"Ah, shad up!" Joey said back, rolling his eyes, his hands stuffed into his pockets. Tristan laughed. Joey glared at him again, "You're as bad as Kaiba..." Tristan shrugged and started to the right pathway. Joey shook his head and started down the forward isle. Yugi and Téa went to the left. After a long while, a gasp was heard from towards the left.

"Oh... my... God..." Téa said; her hand over her mouth. Yugi blankly stared down the hallway, rubbing at his eyes a couple of times to see if it was real.

"Uh... Joey! Tristan!" He yelled, turning around. The other two came running but they stopped fully as soon as they saw the hallway.

"Am I actually seeing that?" Tristan asked, starring.

"I'd think so..." Joey whispered, as if someone would hear him and attack.

"Slow down damn it!" Aerith yelled at Kaiba. He glanced coldly over his shoulder and kept his pace up.

"Hurry up." He replied emotionlessly. Aerith glared at his back and jogged slightly to catch up.

"Bitch." She said sharply.

"Whore." He shot back.

"Why don't we go ahead and stop this? ... Neither of us are going to win." Aerith said, rolling her eyes.

"I beg to differ." Kaiba smirked. Aerith glared at him again and was just about to open her mouth when something stopped her.

"Did you hear that?" She asked, looking around. Her eyes were slightly wide.

"Hear what?" He asked, looking up ahead.

"Listen." She replied. He went quiet and listened. A couple of muffled footsteps were heard before a soft cutting noise, like someone cutting something on a cutting board, was heard.

"What the hell is that?" Kaiba asked, his voice too loud for Aerith and she shushed him. He glared at her.

"Probably someone... or some**thing**..." Aerith whispered. She silently stalked down the hall, like a cat slightly. Kaiba stared at her.

"You think you could be even more stupid?" He muttered, walking after her. She glared over her shoulder at him.

"Sweet, sweet one..." Someone said, as they got closer to the room. They looked at each other, exchanging glances.

"That person is probably crazier than you..." Kaiba commented and received another glare from Aerith.

"You're crazier than that person probably..." Aerith shot back, grinning. Kaiba glared at her.

"You little whore."

"Crazy ass bitch."

"If only you were here now..." The person at the end of the hall said, it female in tone. The two teenagers shut up for a second and listened. The woman burst out into psychotic laughter, "Yeah right! You dreadful-" A loud stabbing noise was heard, "hateful-" another stabbing noise, "thing!" A final stab was heard, "You broke my heart, you wretch!" They both stopped fully in their tracks, looking at each other.

"She's psychotic, got a knife, who knows how large, and some dude broke her heart..." Aerith said, "I don't think you want to go in there..." She said to Kaiba.

"What if the man who broke her heart was taken by another woman? I don't think you would fare much better..." He said, taking a step forward, "How about we both go down there and see what the hell's going on, it might just be a tape recording." Aerith nodded and they made their way down the rest of the hall. The room was actually the kitchen, quite large for a haunted house.

"In horror movies, don't the worst things always happen in the kitchen?" Aerith asked, standing beside Kaiba in the doorway. He looked at her.

"I don't even see any-" A woman came out from behind the open refrigerator door, chuckling like a lunatic. She walked over to a wooden cutting board, stained deeply with blood.

"Holy shit..." Aerith whispered. Kaiba didn't answer her. The woman started humming something, dumping what she was holding on the cutting board.

"I'll find you sooner or later, you bitch..." She said in a singsong voice. She lifted up the knife and plunged it down into the item, which looked like liver or something like that. Blood flew everywhere and the woman laughed, "I'll dice you into pieces, Aaron!"

"She's not a ghost, right?" Kaiba asked Aerith. Aerith nodded.

"How about we just walk the other way? Forget she's here?" She asked, looking over her shoulder. The woman stopped all of a sudden, listening. The two teens froze, thinking that she had heard them. The woman slowly looked up from the knife and her eyes focused on the pair in the doorway. She smiled as if she had really lost her mind.

"Hi, what's your name?" She asked, still smiling. The two looked at each other.

"Uh, we just got lost..." Aerith said, smiling back.

"Yeah," Kaiba said, eyes focused on the knife in the woman's hand.

"What's your name?" She asked again, a more commanding tone in her voice, raising the knife slightly.

"Uh... I'm- Aerith..." Aerith said. The woman's eyes widened slightly.

"Wrong thing to say!" Kaiba hissed at her.

"Aerith... Aaron..." She seemed to connect the two. Her eyes narrowed and she started towards Aerith. Kaiba quickly stepped in front of her.

"She gets confused sometimes, her name's Senna." He said quickly.

"Senna!" Aerith whispered sharply.

"Best I could come up with, deal with it." Kaiba muttered back.

"Oh... I understand. I get like that too." She smiled and turned back towards the cutting board, "I'm chopping this up, I can-"

"No, we're not really..." Kaiba started, unsure.

"Just ate." Aerith quickly butted in, coming out from behind him. He glared at her and she shrugged slightly.

"A shame... My first love broke my heart..." The woman said and they both looked surprised at her, "He ripped it to pieces!" She pulled the knife up and slit her arm, laughing again. The two teens looked on, awestruck, "He ran off with some little flirt!" She reached up and thinly cut her neck. Aerith started backing away, Kaiba in front of her slightly again. The woman pulled the knife up high into the air, "He put a dagger in my heart!" She shrieked, thrusting the knife through her chest, into her heart. Blood dripped from her mouth. She looked surprised before giggling, showing bloodstained teeth, blood flying everywhere practically, "Nothing- a little- duck tape- won't fix..." She fell to the ground, her eyes open, that psychotic smile still planted on her face.

"Oh my God..." Aerith said, starring in horror, "She's dead!"

"Yeah." Kaiba said, starting back towards the front hall.

"But- she's dead!" Aerith repeated.

"Established that fact Aerith," Kaiba came back up and started dragging her down the hall, "Now let's get out of here before she gets back up!" Aerith kept starring.

"She's fucking dead..." She said again. Kaiba stopped and pulled her around so that she could look at his face.

"Listen, this is a fucking fun house gone wrong." He told Aerith but she still looked off down the hallway. He nailed her across her cheeks and she looked up at him, surprised, "Listen to me." Kaiba said, putting emphasis on every word, "You need to pull it together. She'll get up in a bit. This is an **amusement park** haunted house. They can't really hurt people. Do you hear me?" Aerith stared at him, holding her hand to her cheek but still nodded, "Good." Aerith seemed to get back her sense of self suddenly.

"Didn't think you cared..." She said as Kaiba started pulling her down the hallway.

"Well..." He started but stopped, hearing someone running down the other side of the stairs. He looked around for something and found a paperweight sitting on a table. He grabbed it up and got ready to slam it down on whoever's head was coming around the corner.

"Aerith! Kaiba!" Yugi's voice cried out and Kaiba sighed, seeing Aerith's face the second he didn't put the paperweight down.

"All right... all right..." He said, putting the almost-weapon back down on the table.

"I can still make you cry out in a minute." Aerith stated as they went down the hallway a bit to meet Yugi.

"Whatever..." He said coldly.

"Do you dye that hair back to brown?" She asked, pulling at a strand of his hair. He ducked away from her and glared. She snickered, "I'll take that as a yes." He looked away from her and saw Yugi coming up towards them. He was out of breath and looked scared.

"What he found couldn't have been worse..." Kaiba said, looking at Aerith. She shrugged and suddenly grinned.

"You know, I think you missed a hair or two..." She reached up again and he pulled away.

"Stop being an ass." He told her and she glared at him.

"Aerith! Kaiba!" Yugi yelled again. He came up to them and leaned on his knees. He looked up towards them, "We- we found... it's horrible..." Aerith and Kaiba exchanged glances for a second before glaring at each other. Yugi started again, "The hallway... it's just... come on!" He ran off and the other two teens took a quick look at each other before Aerith took off running, Kaiba walking behind her.

"Hey, Kaiba!" Aerith yelled from further down the hall and he looked up, annoyed.

"What the hell do-" He started.

"You're a fucking crazy SOB!" She said, waving, "I'm not surprised you ain't killed yourself in a delusion or something like that!" She grinned as he came to a full stop and glared darkly at her. Suddenly, he ran at her and she took off.

"Get your ass back here!" He yelled, passing Yugi in the other hallway and nearly knocking him over.

"You couldn't catch me even if I slowed down!" Aerith yelled over her shoulder. Kaiba was still after her, extremely pissed after all the shots she kept taking at him. Joey was trying hard to keep from laughing, Aerith kept going around the same three bookcases but would double back as soon as she heard Kaiba on the other side and make him turn back around or something like that. She would do it in different orders though and the second he thought he had one down, she would switch to another.

"You're..." He stopped suddenly, behind a bookshelf, where no one could see him. He went dead silent. Joey burst out into laughter suddenly.

"Whoops..." He didn't hear anything out of Kaiba, although he was seething with anger.

"Come on! Where are you? You're a-" Aerith came around a corner and came face to face with Kaiba. Her eyes widened, "a... uh... Hi?" Kaiba smirked.

"Hi." Kaiba reached to grab for her arm when Aerith shrieked, in a very high-pitched voice. He covered his ears, backing up a step. Aerith started off again and he leapt after her. She didn't get that far though because he practically tackled her to the ground. Her hand whipped out for anything and she managed to pull a book off the shelf. Something went flying past the two of them and they stopped their fight. A javelin had come flying down out of somewhere and landed right next to them.

"What the hell?" Aerith said, staring at it. They both quickly got to their feet.

"You're sick of leading me around bookcases so you sick someone with a lance on me?" Kaiba retorted, glaring at her.

"I didn't do shit!" Aerith shouted back.

"Like hell you didn't!"

"Hey! I don't sick people with javelins on other people, even if those people **are** annoying!"

"The books are probably-" Yugi started but both Aerith and Kaiba yelled at him.

"Shut the hell up!"

"You're a fucking bitch!" Aerith started back at Kaiba.

"Stupid little whore!" He shot back. Aerith reached over and pulled a book off the shelf, preparing to whack Kaiba on the head with it. A dagger went flying past her head, nearly taking her ear with it. She dropped the book in surprise. A couple drops of blood dripped down from her ear and she reached up to make sure it was still there.

"I tried to tell you!" Yugi yelled at them. They stared at him for a second before he continued, "The books are booby-trapped. You pull one out; you get the trap set on you." He plucked up both books and placed them back in their original spots. The javelin disappeared along with the dagger. Aerith rubbed at her ear a little, obviously unsettled by what had just happened. Her eyes scanned the spines of the books on the shelf.

"They can't be all booby-trapped can they?" Aerith murmured, looking back at Yugi. He shrugged back at her.

"I wouldn't know, I just saw what happened there and figured that probably most of them are." Yugi replied after a second, "Now you've got to see this. It's just..." He shook his head, his eyes wide with fear. Aerith and Kaiba exchanged glances for a second, not revealing what had happened in the kitchen. Yugi led the group over towards the hallway he and Téa had first seen.

"That can't be- what I think it is..." Aerith said, in shock for a second. Kaiba was silent but it was evident that he was shocked too.

"So you see it too? Then we're not all imaging it?" Yugi asked, his voice weak. Suddenly a scream echoed down the hallway, cut off after a second or two. Everyone stared down the hallway.

"That was that scream from earlier..." Kaiba stated, his voice devoid of all emotion, even the usual coldness, in it. Aerith gulped and took a nervous step forward. A hand was immediately on her shoulder and she nearly screamed out in fright. She turned to see that it was Kaiba's hand.

"No wonder why it was so cold..." She said and he ignored the obvious shot.

"I don't think that's a good idea." He told her.

"Like you said before, this is an amusement park haunted house. What's the worst that can happen?" Aerin said, faking cheeriness to hide her fear.

"I've got the feeling that it's turning out not to be what it first seemed..." He said, nervously looking towards the hallway but covered up for what he was feeling by taking another shot at Aerith, "Anyways, we can't have you with a knife wound in both arms. I'll go." Aerith was taken aback by this as he started towards the hallway before the shot sunk in. She glared at his back for a second.

"Not without me, you get yourself into more trouble than I do." She stalked after him, focusing on his back instead of the blood on the walls. She held back her revulsion, following. He turned and she saw on his face that he was also sickened by it. Aerith whispered, "It's real blood, isn't it?" He nodded and she shut her eyes for a second.

"Maybe you should-" He started but she stopped him.

"I'll be fine." She opened her eyes and managed to focus them on him. He nodded and turned around, leading her down the hall. The footsteps of one more person came down the hall and they stopped again. Joey came running up.

"I'm not gonna leave you two alone after wat happen'd last time!" He exclaimed but suddenly came to the same conclusion as Aerith, "That's- real blood- on da walls?" He gasped. The other two teens nodded. Joey gulped and tried not to look. The three started back down the hallway, turning around a corner and seeing the door at the end of the hall.

"Do you think they'll be okay?" Téa asked, watching the three disappear around a corner. She had been too sickened to follow them but if she could have, she would have probably. Yugi had stayed behind to watch over Téa and he nodded in answer to her question. Tristan had stayed to watch over the other two.

"They'll be fine, I'm sure of it. They do have Aerith to watch over them." Tristan said confidently.

"Aerith's got a knife wound in her arm." Yugi pointed out and Tristan frowned for a second.

"She's still probably more than a match for anything that comes after the three of them and Joey's over-protective about her and Kaiba... I can't figure out Kaiba for the life of me. Usually he's like ice but... he's just confusing now, since when has he given a damn about Aerith? He's acting sort of weird." Tristan shook his head, "Although, he'll probably help in the protection department just to save his own skin... They'll be just fine other than either Joey and Kaiba or Aerith and Kaiba or all three arguing." He shook his head again.

"I hope you're right." Téa said, still watching the hallway intently for any sign of the three teenagers.

Kaiba reached out and turned the doorknob. It gave away easily and he opened the door. Aerith stood beside him, ready for almost anything, Joey behind her. The three looked into the room, seeming to have called a truce for now. A bloodied sight met their eyes and Aerith held back a gasp. Someone sat at the bathtub, doing something.

"Wat da hell's she doin'?" Joey whispered and the person stopped all of a sudden. They looked up and grinned at the three teens. Aerith and Kaiba recognized the woman from the kitchen. She raised up a knife that was probably a more a machete than a kitchen knife.

"You're next aren't you?" She gave a homicidal laugh and stood up, blood dripping from the knife tip. Their eyes widened to see a nearly dismembered body in the tub.

"Next for- dat?" Joey asked weakly, pointing at the tub, afraid of the answer.

"Of course!" The woman answered, laughing again.

"Run!" Kaiba shouted, pulling the door shut. The other two teens took off down the hallway as he slammed the door shut in her face. He also took off running down the hallway, managing to catch up to the two before they hit the corner. Aerith slipped and Kaiba caught her, Joey out front. He lifted her up and ran down the hall the rest of the way with her in his arms. The others were staring at them.

"What-" Téa started but didn't finish, Kaiba started shouting at her.

"Run you fucking god-damned idiot!" He shouted and the whole group tore off through the maze of books, Kaiba and Joey at the head of them although Kaiba still carried Aerith. As they reached the front hall, Joey yanked at the doors.

"No use! They're still locked!" He shouted in a panic. Kaiba set Aerith down on the ground.

"Up the fucking stairs!" He said and he and Aerith started up them, skipping at least a step or two along the way up. The rest of the group was at their heels, adrenaline pumping them on.

* * *

Aerith: /pulls DM to her feet/ Don't faint again... 

Kaiba: Sometimes... /rolls eyes/

DM: All right, please review for this story's sake... Wait, did one of you do the disclaimer?

Aerith: Yeah, stupid did it. /points at Kaiba/

Kaiba: She would've killed me if one of us hadn't.

DM: All right, /rolls eyes/ Thanks again for reviewing Freak09 and if you like this chapter too, and this goes for everyone, please hit that shiny, little review button on the bottom of the page if you guys want to review too!

Aerith: Sugar-high again?

Kaiba: More than likely.

Aerith: And the review button is **not** shiny. /rolls eyes/

Kaiba: You might not want to talk with such sass to her like that.

Aerith: Why not?! /glares at Kaiba/

Kaiba: Cos she's still got the frying pan. /points at DM/

DM: /raises frying pan above her head and runs at Aerith/ Good for nothing, OC of mine!

Aerith: Yipe! /runs away as fast as possible/

Kaiba: Just review before DM kills Aerith./watches with enjoyment as DM chases Aerith around/


	3. Define Fear

DM: /blowing kisses/

Kaiba: She's lost it, hasn't she?

Aerith: **Probably**.

Kaiba: Why are you mad at me for?

DM: I had another nice person review!

Aerith: Ahh! No! /shrieking/

Kaiba: /covers ears/ Oww! Shut up!

DM: I'm dedicating **this** chapter to Midnightangel! Freak09 didn't review this time quick enough... :-(

Aerith and Kaiba: Yay!

DM: Shut up!

Aerith: All right, I'll do the disclaimer.

Kaiba: /bored/ DM doesn't own-

Aerith: -Yugioh or anything else.

Kaiba: except her laptop, Aerith and herself.

Aerith: And all that neat stuff in her room.

Kaiba: /raises eyebrow/ Neat? Her room is **far** from neat.

Aerith: I mean like her deck and stuff, ya know, she's got three BEWD and a Black Luster Soldier and-

DM: Shut up! Next chappy!

Aerith: /singing in background/ rhymes with happy... rhymes with sappy...

* * *

Chapter 3: Define Fear 

The group hit the top of the stairs in record time probably and stood there for a while, breathing heavily. There was a sudden creak and the stairs gave out, falling down. Kaiba stared down at them for a while, satisfied that the woman couldn't follow them up.

"It doesn't- look like- that crazy bitch- can follow us up..." Aerith breathed, sitting on the floor a few feet back from the top of the stairs.

"What- crazy person?" Tristan asked, leaning heavily on his knees.

"We met her- in the kitchen." Kaiba answered, the run also seemed to have worn on him as well. The two quickly related their encounter in the kitchen with the woman, then the encounter in the bathroom with Joey.

"If she killed herself, how's she back an' killin' people?" Joey asked; they'd all gotten their breath back by now. Kaiba looked back down the stairs.

"I don't know. Maybe she's like Jason or something..." Aerith answered, getting to her feet, "Damn, I've got a stitch in my side..." She commented, holding it in pain.

"You didn't even run the half of the way." Kaiba sharply reminded her. She gave a half-hearted grin.

"I'm not in as good shape as I thought I was..." Aerith said and gave a deep sigh. Kaiba shook his head before glancing back down at the collapsed stairs.

"I think we better move away from here, it might give out like the stairs." He said and the group gave a murmur of agreement. They saw two ways heading from the top of the stairs, one to the right and one to the left.

"Uh... but which way?" Aerith asked, looking back and forth for a bit between the two ways. No one answered her. She shook her head before asking, "Anyone got a coin?"

"For what?" Joey asked, handing her a quarter.

"Heads we go left, tails we go right. Either way, it's probably just as dangerous." Aerith answered before flipping it. She caught it in midair and slapped it down on the back of her hand. She looked up at everyone, "Bets anyone, bets?"

"Ten bucks says we're goin' left." Joey moaned. Aerith grinned.

"I'll take that bet." Tristan answered, also grinning.

"Téa, come over here and back me up whether its heads or tails." Aerith said and Téa walked over to the taller girl. Aerith uncovered her hand and both girls looked down at it.

"Tails!" They said together.

"You owe me ten bucks Joey!" Tristan said, laughing, "I'll just add it to what you owe Yugi's grandpa!" Tristan howled in laughter and Joey took a swing at him.

"You've gotta be kiddin' me!" He said. Aerith had nearly doubled over in laughter and Kaiba wore an amused look on his face. Joey snatched the coin back from Aerith before she dropped it, his face beet red.

"You don't have- a good record- for these things- Joey!" Aerith laughed when suddenly she found herself on the floor. She looked up, confused, "Huh?"

"Why would you want to kiss the floor, Aerith?" Kaiba said sarcastically. Aerith got up and glared at him.

"All right, I know you shoved me! Go ahead and admit it so I can shove you back down to the first story!" Aerith yelled at him. He shook his head, feigning a bit of pity.

"I don't have a clue what you're talking about." Kaiba claimed but a smirk crossed his face and Aerith glared daggers at him.

"Stupid idiot." Aerith said, smirking back.

"Crazy bitch." Kaiba replied.

"Here we go again." Yugi sighed, getting tired of the two. They immediately shut up and looked towards the right hallway.

"Let's just get out of here." Kaiba said, starting up the small flight of stairs up towards the open space at the top.

"I say you're the first one of us to get killed." Aerith commented, following behind. Kaiba shot a glare over his shoulder at her. Aerith smiled in return. The rest of the group sighed but still followed nonetheless. They stopped at the top of the stairs for a second and looked around. The room was pitch black; you couldn't see an inch in front of your face. A floorboard creaked and Téa screamed, grabbing onto the person next to her. Tristan gave a yelp of fright along with Yugi.

"What the hell are you doing back there?" Kaiba asked calmly, hearing all the screaming and yelling. Everyone could hear that he wasn't exactly with them; he was off to the left.

"This isn't a scream fest, although I'm sure Joey would win that." Aerith said; she also seemed to be off to the left, but closer than Kaiba probably was. Suddenly, the lights came on. Aerith and Kaiba stood at the light switch, both their hands on it. Aerith grinned, "I found it first." She claimed and Kaiba gave a snort of laughter.

"Yeah right." He replied. Suddenly, his eyes fell on the rest of the gang and he held back laughs. Aerith got a confused look on her face and turned to see what was going on. Téa had grabbed onto Yugi and he, in surprise, had grabbed a hold of Joey, and Joey, since he's easily scared by things, locked onto Tristan and fainted and Tristan had fallen from Joey's sudden weight, taking the rest of the group with him.

"I guess Joey wouldn't win after all..." Aerith said, laughing. The lights suddenly flicked off and Aerith leapt back, landing on top of Kaiba again.

"Get the hell off me Aerith!" He yelled at her.

"Why'd you turn the fucking lights off?!" She shouted back.

"I didn't!" He yelled and Aerith went quiet.

"Then who did?" She asked. The lights came back on and found the rest of the group almost up on their feet, Joey had become conscious, while Aerith had her fingers in Kaiba's collar and was proceeding to shake him. He shoved her off and got up from the floor, brushing himself off. Aerith also got up and the two glared at each other.

"Guys, please stop. This is going to get us nowhere." Yugi pleaded and the two teens exchanged looks for a second. Joey suddenly noticed the room next to them.

"Hey, isn't that one of them greenhouse thingies?" He asked and Aerith laughed.

"Yes, mutt, it's one of those greenhouse thingies." Kaiba answered sarcastically. Joey glared at him for a second before stepping towards the greenhouse. He tried to peer into one of the windows when suddenly something slammed up against the glass. He screamed and leapt back. It was a person and they banged on the glass for a second, yelling something that they couldn't hear. The rest of the group stared, amazed. The person turned and held their hands up, as if trying to ward someone away. It didn't seem to work as suddenly they had a knife through them. As they slipped to the floor, the group saw who was behind them. The crazy woman from downstairs smiled at them psychotically, yanking the knife out of her victim. The group stared for a second before taking off in two different directions. Joey, Tristan, Téa, and Yugi had took off, running back the way they'd come and Aerith and Kaiba stood still for a second before he dragged her off down the hall. They dashed into the room at the end of the hall.

"Where's Aerith and Kaiba?" Yugi asked as they ran. Joey stopped full in his tracks and turned to look. Tristan grabbed a hold of him.

"I'm sure they're fine! Aerith probably dragged him off down the hall someplace!" He shouted as they dashed past the stairs, slowed down by Joey.

"Hand me that chair!" Kaiba yelled at Aerith and she shoved the chair towards him.

"You might as well come out, you stupid little kids..." The woman called down the hall. Kaiba stuck the chair under the doorknob before looking around the room.

"You stuck us in a dead end room." Aerith told him, her voice more of a whisper than its normal. He found that it was true as he looked about the room. Aerith started again, "We're dead if she kicks that door in..." The only other door was probably to the closet but they checked anyways. Racks and racks of clothes went back through the room as far as they could see. Aerith paled and looked nervously back at the door.

"Open up, I'll get in either way..." The woman said, trying the doorknob.

"That wall over there, there's got to be some way out of here!" Kaiba hissed at Aerith. They ran around the probably king or queen sized bed and started searching the wall for anything.

"I'm going to kick the door in..." The woman said in a sing-song voice.

"There's nothing here!" Aerith said as the woman's first kick connected with the door.

"Keep looking!" Kaiba said back. Aerith suddenly tripped over something and fell. As Kaiba pulled her to her feet, a passageway opened up right in front of them. He looked at her, smirking slightly, "What'd you trip over? Or do you just weigh that much?" Aerith ignored the shot and they both quickly went through the passage before it shut again and the woman came through the door.

Yugi and the rest of the gang ran through the doorway opposite the stairs up towards the greenhouse. There was no door to close them in and they looked around the room for a way out. What they saw defied their explanation.

"Are those ghosts?" Tristan asked as they started towards their right, still looking for a way out.

"Yeah I think so..." Yugi answered.

"What do you think happened to Aerith and Kaiba?" Téa asked, nervously looking back at the door for any sign of the woman.

"Like I said before, Aerith probably dragged him off down the hall the other way. We'll meet up with them sooner or later." Tristan said, bringing his eyes back to the walls.

"As long as she's not 'urt." Joey said, glancing back at the door over his shoulder.

"Why are we scared of that crazy lady again?" Aerith asked as the two teens ran down the hall.

"Number one, because she's crazy." Kaiba said a tone of sarcasm in his voice.

"I've got that." Aerith replied.

"Reason two, she's got a machete." He continued.

"I never would've figured." Aerith said, rolling her eyes.

"And she's undead more than likely, is the third reason." Kaiba finished.

"Ah, now I understand." Aerith said sarcastically.

"There's also the fact that your name's Aerith and the guy who broke her heart's name was Aaron. That might be why she's chasing us and not the others." Kaiba said as the end of the passage came into sight.

"That's a good fact." Aerith replied as they reached the end of the passageway. The door at the end opened and they ran out into the room on the other side. They blinked for a second thanks to the bright lights in the room.

"Aerith! Kaiba!" Someone yelled and they looked over to see the rest of the group running towards them. Suddenly they saw what was in the middle of the room.

"Those are dancing ghosts, right?" Aerith asked Kaiba.

"Looks like it to me... but how can they dance when they go straight through things?" Kaiba answered and Aerith raised an eyebrow.

"Kaiba?" She asked.

"Hm?"

"Sometimes I wonder about you." Aerith said, shaking her head as the others ran up.

"I'm not even going to reply to that." He replied.

"What happened to you guys?" Tristan asked, looking them up and down.

"Let's see..." Aerith said sarcastically, "We ran down the hall and the stupid idiot beside me led us into a dead end room."

"It was not a dead end." Kaiba snapped back. Aerith rolled her eyes again.

"The woman nearly bashed the door in and I tripped over something that opened some cliché secret passage." Aerith continued.

"Which we never would have found had I not suggested seeing if there was one!" Kaiba defended. Aerith smirked.

"Not to forget that **I** tripped over it, not you." Aerith said and Kaiba clamped his mouth shut, glaring at Aerith. She kept going, "Ran down the hall and ended up here. Joey do anything stupid while we were gone?"

"Other than trying to go back after you, no." Tristan answered while Joey gave a growl.

"That was not stupid, I just care about her!" Joey argued back.

"Going up against a crazy lady with a machete and you're weaponless sounds pretty... uh-oh..." Aerith stopped, looking towards the doorway, going pale. Everyone looked and saw the woman at the door, stalking along the sides of the room, looking for them.

"Uh-oh is right..." Kaiba said, even he looked a little pale.

"She's gonna see us if we make a break for it!" Aerith said, looking from the door to the woman a couple of times.

"Come on!" Aerith heard someone say and was suddenly whisked away onto the midst of the dancing ghosts. She looked up, confused. She found herself looking up into Kaiba's face.

"What the hell?" She said quietly.

"Play along, we'll get to the door." He answered, trying to keep his eyes on Aerith but couldn't help looking about the room.

"I- don't know- how to dance..." Aerith admitted.

"It doesn't matter as long as she doesn't pick us out from the ghosts." He answered. Suddenly, all the ghosts were leaning over and kissing their partners. He went slightly paler but still managed to place a kiss on Aerith's cheek. She blushed slightly but quickly managed to drive it away. The two of them managed to get out of the door, unnoticed by the woman. Aerith held back a laugh from the danger of the whole situation. Suddenly Téa and Yugi appeared out of the door and stood next to them.

"She almost caught us, I had to turn quickly enough so that she didn't see how tall my 'dancing' partner was." Téa sighed. Aerith and Kaiba exchanged glances before snickering. Téa raised an eyebrow, "What's so funny?" She asked.

"Joey and Tristan had to dance across together..." Aerith managed out.

"Oh that... Joey was glaring daggers at you, Kaiba, for dragging Aerith out there." Téa shook her head, "Have you even noticed he's got a crush on you, Aerith?" Aerith nodded.

"Should I give a damn?" Kaiba asked, Joey and Tristan suddenly appeared in the doorway and ran off down the hall.

"What's their problem?" Aerith asked.

"I think she saw us!" Tristan hissed back at them. The rest of them took off running and Aerith and Kaiba quickly ended up at the front. Aerith glanced back over her shoulder and saw that everyone had stopped.

"What the fuck!" She said and Kaiba stopped. Aerith waved wildly to get their attention but failed. She looked over at Kaiba who had suddenly gone to staring at something behind her. Aerith paled, "There's something really scary behind me, isn't there?" She whispered. Kaiba nodded and Aerith whirled around. She took a step back and kept staring. She asked all of a sudden, "Please don't tell me that's like a demon or something..."

"Then I won't ruin your hopes..." Kaiba answered as the others came up.

"That's der, right?" Joey asked, pointing towards the creature floating above the collapsed stairs.

"I really don't wanna find out." Tristan answered and they left Aerith and Kaiba standing there for a second before they also took off running, behind everyone else. They ran into the room at the end of the hall and slammed the doors shut behind them.

"Do you think it saw us?" Yugi asked, obviously afraid, looking at Aerith and Kaiba who had ran into the room last and slammed the doors shut. The two were now leaning against the heavy oak doors, breathing heavily again.

"I hope not..." Aerith said, looking around the room and eyeing the stairs that went up to a third floor, "Why are there no stairs **down** in this place?" She asked.

"Because the people who built this place were stupid idiots..." Kaiba replied.

"Ah..." Aerith said, acting as if she got it.

"I'm gonna find you!" Rang through the house. Aerith shivered slightly. Kaiba was already looking about the room, trying to see if there was something they could stick in front of the door so she wouldn't get in.

"How about we shove something in front of the door?" He asked.

"Like what?" Tristan asked, looking around.

"Anything!" Kaiba shouted back.

"All right, all right!" Tristan yelled. He noticed the sitting area off to the side of the bookcases and ran over for a second. He was silent for a second before he said, "A little help, anyone?" Aerith nodded towards Kaiba and he glared at her for a second before running off with Joey to help Tristan.

"Téa, Yugi, help me with the door, she might get here before-" Aerith started but didn't finish.

"I know you're in there..." The woman's voice echoed down the hall. Aerith paled again and placed her full weight against the door. Yugi and Téa quickly joined her. Footsteps were heard down the hall and someone threw themselves against the door.

"Hurry up with whatever you've got!" Aerith yelled at the three boys as they scrambled to shove the door back into place.

"It's too heavy for these two weak idiots and me to carry!" She heard Kaiba yell back. Aerith glanced at Yugi and Téa. Yugi nodded at her and she ran off to help the boys.

"Please let her be strong enough..." Téa prayed over and over again. The four of them came into view, Aerith and Tristan on one side, Kaiba and Joey on the other. It looked like a sofa or something. They then noticed that there was concrete on the bottom of it. Téa kept praying until they got close enough. The woman hit the door again and Téa and Yugi managed to keep the doors shut.

"Move!" Aerith roared at them and they quickly dashed out of the way.

* * *

Aerith: still singing rhymes with zappy... rhymes with chappy...

Kaiba: Who gave her sugar?

DM: Wasn't me!

Kaiba: /rolls eyes/ Yeah, right...

Aerith: /singing **still/** rhymes with... uh... appy!

DM: /sweetly/ Aerith? Little OC...

Aerith: Huh?

Kaiba: /copying/ DM Tell the nice people what to do.

Aerith: Oh yeah right! /grins/ Hit the shiny review button over there and please give DM a nice review... /looks at DM/ Is that it?

Kaiba: Tell them **not** to flame.

Aerith: Don't flame or else I'll get to torture someone, probably Kaiba.

DM: That's it, I think....

Kaiba: Yep, that's it.

Aerith: What rhymes with it?

DM and Kaiba: Shut up!

Aerith: That doesn't rhyme with it.

DM: /deep sigh/

Kaiba: /sweatdrop/

DM: Just review and we'll make Aerith **not** sugar-high.

Kaiba: /begging/ Please!


	4. Near Death

DM: /crying/

Aerith and Kaiba: /looking weirdly at DM/

Aerith: What's her problem?

Kaiba: I'll bet she got another reviewer.

DM: Yeah I did, thanks CJ! /starts crying again/

Aerith: Then what's the matter?

DM: This, unfortunitely, is my second to last chapter. /starts sobbing again/

Aerith and Kaiba: Yes!!!

DM: I don't own Yugioh or anything else, 'cept Aerith and this story. /sobbing again/

Kaiba: Second to last chapter!

* * *

Chapter 4: Near Death

They managed to get the sofa into place before the woman made her next attack on the door. The doors didn't budge with the sofa there and Aerith fell to the floor practically. There was silence for a while before Aerith started to chuckle. Kaiba looked over at her and a smirk played on his lips for a second before he too started snickering. The rest of the gang stared at them for a while before Joey started laughing too.

"That's just- too much..." Aerith managed to get out, "I feel like I've run- a hundred yard dash- with rabid dogs- behind me..." Tristan soon joined their laughter and slowly but surely so did Téa and Yugi, finally seeing what was so funny.

"Don't forget- the second one after..." Kaiba added.

"Yeah- can't forget- da weight liftin'- either..." Joey said.

"With- one of those- couches- on either side..." Tristan told them and they laughed harder. Soon after their laughter stopped though.

"We have to get out here still..." Yugi said, looking towards the stairs, sitting with Téa on the sofa in front of the door.

"And I thought we were going to stay here- the rest of our lives..." Kaiba said sarcastically. He was sitting on the ground beside Aerith, both of them leaning on the same bookcase, and she shoved him.

"That was just- corny..." She said and he smirked.

"Like you?" He asked and she shoved him again but the effort took enough out of her this time that she fell to the side.

"Stupid idiot..." She muttered, sitting back up. He smirked again.

"Crazy bitch..." He replied and she shoved him again, lightly this time though.

"Just- shut up..." Aerith gave up and leaned up against the bookcase and him at the same time.

"No witty comeback... I win?" Kaiba asked, looking down at the girl.

"Whatever..." Aerith replied.

"So what's that? Fifty to about-"

"No, it's the other way around, I've got the fifty and that was your first or second one..." Aerith replied, shutting her eyes.

"Yeah, right, I've won practically every fight we've had!" He said back.

"Don't make me remind you of-" Aerith started but he cut her off.

"I won that one." He claimed but she sighed.

"No I did, you remember what happened afterwards?" Aerith said and he winced, not saying anything back. Aerith smirked, not hearing any comments back to her, "Obviously you do. Or maybe I should refresh your memory in front of all these lovely people."

"No, no, I remember just fine." Kaiba said quickly.

"Are you sure I could just-"

"Yes, I'm very completely sure." He said and she sighed again.

"I think we ought to get going..." Tristan said, looking up the stairs. He and Joey were the only two mostly standing but Joey was leaning against a bookcase next to Aerith and Kaiba and Tristan had the wall near the door. Joey suddenly noticed that Aerith was holding her arm and it was limp.

"Aerith, why are ya holdin' your arm?" He asked and suddenly had practically everyone else's attention. Confused, she looked down at it.

"I must've strained it, it hurts like hell and I can't move my fingers..." She said before setting her head back against Kaiba's shoulder. He eyed the shirt-sleeve still tied around the wound.

"Let me see it." He said and tiredly she gave in, moving her arm enough to where he could see it better.

"Just don't make it worse..." She said, her eyes shut again. He searched through his pockets for a second before finding a roll of gauze.

"Why didn't ya use dat before?" Joey asked him.

"I didn't think I had it with me." Kaiba answered, pulling the bloodied shirtsleeve off the wound. Blood ran thickly from it again and he quickly held the ripped sleeve over the wound again, pressing down this time. Aerith cried out for a second, reaching with her other hand for her arm. He tried getting the gauze off the roll with only a couple fingers but realized that he needed another hand. He looked up at Aerith, "Aerith, do you think you could hold that down on that wound?" She nodded and her hand replaced his when he drew it back.

"It's that bad?" Tristan asked, awestruck.

"She had a fucking knife sticking out of her arm, what did you expect?" Kaiba said back, getting the gauze off finally. Aerith let go and shirt sleeve fell to the floor, blood with it. He quickly started wrapping the wound, working quickly so that she didn't loose too much blood. When he was finished, he went back over it for a second, making sure it wouldn't come off if she ran around.

"You know a lot for some rich kid." Aerith commented and he smirked.

"That's all I get, just that I know a lot? Some thanks; you could've bled to death." Kaiba said, a slight bit of sarcasm in it.

"Whatever..." Aerith said, rolling her eyes and getting up.

"I'll accept that." He replied, also getting up. Aerith eyed the bandages for a second, moving her arm a bit.

"I'm serious though, you know a lot. Whenever I tried to but bandages like this on, they always came unraveled the second I moved." Aerith complimented.

"Why don't we keep going?" Tristan asked, seeing the look on Joey's face.

"Whatever." Kaiba replied, starting towards the stairs. Aerith looked around the room for a second before following. Joey was right behind her, Tristan following him. Téa and Yugi ran up behind them together. Suddenly, a loud crash was heard and the study's doors caved in a little against the force on the other side.

"That can't be that crazy woman..." Aerith said, her face pale again.

"I think you're right about that." Kaiba replied and they took off, running as fast as they could up the stairs, the rest of the group right behind them. The noise stopped as they reached the top of the stairs.

"What's- so great- 'bout goin' up?" Joey asked, looking back down at the floor.

"That there's probably- a way down..." Aerith replied, also looking down at the ground over the banister.

"Uh..." Kaiba started, staring down the dark hall.

"What is it now?" Aerith asked, turning around. She stared for a bit before saying, "That is **not** another blood trail, is it?"

"It's not catsup!" He said back.

"That's what I was afraid of." Aerith said, nervously looking back over her shoulder at the stairs, "How'd she get up here? I thought she was out in the hall..."

"Maybe that- thing helped her..." Téa said, shivering slightly.

"At least it's not up here with us." Tristan pointed out.

"But the crazy, knife-wielding, Aerith-hater lady is up here. Is that any better?" Aerith sharply reminded him.

"She just thinks about whoever that Aaron person is when she hears Aerith's name." Kaiba pointed out and Aerith sighed.

"It's not my fault..." Aerith said, glaring down the stairs.

"You couldn't see the fact that Aerith is so close to Aaron? You're slower than I thought!" He said back.

"I couldn't think; she was brandishing that knife at me more than you!" Aerith yelled back.

"Even I could think when you screwed up and started towards you with the fucking knife! I'm always covering up for your stupid mistakes!" Kaiba shouted, shaking a fist at her.

"Excuse me?!" Aerith yelled back, "As I remember, you were the one who screwed up all the fucking time! I rescued your sorry ass from-"

"I would've gotten out in less than a day! They couldn't hold me in there even if they wanted to!" He shouted back.

"They had you knocked out and nearly dead in a corner!" Aerith nearly screamed back. He glared darkly before replying.

"I was faking you stupid little whore!" The argument continued for a long while.

"Shut up!" Yugi finally screamed at both of them and an awkward silence followed. He looked at the two of them and they pulled back a little bit. He said after a second, "This isn't helping us get out of here." His voice was quiet but he actually sounded mad at the two of them, "When we get out of here you two can argue and yell your heads off for all I care, just not now. Who knows what's going on down there or if that crazy woman is coming back this way with all that yelling you two have been doing." He shook his head, "Let's just keep going and get out of here before we all get killed." He started past the two and walked down the hall, Téa following behind, amazed at him. Joey and Tristan exchanged glances before following Téa. Aerith looked at Kaiba and thought for a second about what she had said.

"I'm- sorry." She managed to get out, struggling. Her throat wanted to close up on her. He looked from her to the rest of them who were going around the corner before firmly setting his eyes on her. Aerith looked down the stairs again for a second, "I mean, I guess I've got a short, little, Kerosene-soaked fuse on me..." She claimed, smiling slightly, "And you've got one to match of course..." She grinned up at him and he managed a slight smirk.

"What makes you think that?" He asked.

"The way we always end up bickering all the time, it's obvious, isn't it?" Aerith shook her head before she heard a loud crashing noise from down the stairs. She looked over the banister with Kaiba beside her, "What the hell was that?" A black shape was standing in the middle of the nearly completely destroyed study. It sent the last bookcase flying with a shove and started towards the stairs. Aerith pulled back from the banister with a horrified look on her face, "That isn't what I think it is, is it?" She managed out in a slight squeak. Kaiba also pulled back from the banister and stood beside her.

"Yeah, it probably is..." He answered before looking down the hall. He turned back to her, "Gomen." He managed to say and kissed her. Aerith, surprised, let him. He pulled back after a second and glanced at the shadow which was nearly half-way up the stairs. They took off running down the hall to catch up with the others. At the end of the hall, the rest of the group stood, backed up against a wall.

"Bad news!" Aerith yelled as the two came into the room.

"Watch out!" Yugi yelled to her and she managed to slip just in time to miss having her head chopped off by the crazy woman. Kaiba pulled Aerith to her feet before the woman took another swing at her, and they saw that the room was a dead end as they backed up towards the others.

"Uh-oh..." Aerith said, glancing towards the doorway.

"So- what's the bad news?" Tristan asked.

"Good news is that we're all here." Kaiba said, sarcastically, "Bad news is that the fucking demon's coming up the stairs."

"Oh shit..." Joey managed out, looking at the doorway. There was silence for a bit before Aerith started again.

"Any bright ideas?" She asked but didn't get an answer, "Guys?" She looked over her shoulder and her mouth dropped. She quickly looked forward.

"What's the matter now? Everyone disappear?" Kaiba shot at her. Aerith nodded.

"Yep." She answered. He glanced back over his shoulder.

"You've got to be kidding me..." He said, looking back forward again. The rest of the group who'd been behind them had disappeared into thin air.

"This is it, right?" Aerith asked all of a sudden.

"Unless we 'magically' manage to open the trap door that's **probably** behind us, more than likely." Kaiba answered, "There's a demon coming up here, the crazy woman in front of us, and a thick wall behind us. Yeah, I think we're done for." Aerith rolled her eyes.

"You didn't have to be so sarcastic." She said.

"I think I'll stop your bickering..." The crazy woman said, raising the machete up higher. Aerith felt her back meet the wall.

"I think you were right, we are done for." She said to Kaiba and smiled slightly, "Any last minute things you want to say?"

"Maybe." He answered, smirking back. Aerith shook her head.

"Like I said before, sometimes I just have to wonder..." She said as the crazy woman came closer, grinning like the psychotic maniac she was.

"You won't have to wonder anymore, that's for sure..." The woman said. Aerith shot a glare at her and suddenly saw the dark shadow in the doorway.

"We're definitely finished now if we weren't before." Aerith said, her eyes wide. Flames shot into the room, distracting the woman. Aerith suddenly felt an arm around her waist and looked up at Kaiba. She saw that he was actually afraid. Not even aware of what she was doing, she reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck, "Sorry..." She repeated again, burying her head in his shoulder.

"Didn't notice." He said sarcastically but wrapped his other arm around her, "but... me too." He said and pulled her closer. The floor under them suddenly gave out and Aerith screamed. She stopped as soon as she had started, realizing that she was in a tunnel of sorts. There was also the fact that they were going very fast.

"Oh shit!" She shouted, holding tighter onto Kaiba. She managed to see a little ahead, "That's not a vertical drop, is it?" She asked.

"Yeah." He answered before they hit it. A couple of seconds later, they were lying on the floor in the cellar, Aerith's hair a little wind-blown, but otherwise the two of them were fine.

"That was so not right... so not right!" Aerith claimed, "A fucking near-death experience!"

"If the demon wasn't enough..." Kaiba trailed off, looking up at the ceiling.

"Nice ride, huh?" Someone asked and they looked up to see the rest of the gang standing there.

"More like terrifying." Aerith replied, getting up.

"The demon nearly got us." Kaiba said, brushing himself off again, "It sent flames all over the room before the woman got the chance to lop our heads off."

"Before she turned around, the trap door let loose from under us." Aerith continued and chuckled, "I thought the demon had collapsed the floor and screamed..." She shook her head, "I thought we were as good as dead."

"We?" Joey asked, his eyes narrowed slightly.

"I wouldn't have anyone to tease if he died, other than you of course... and you're no fun." Aerith claimed, grinning.

"Whatever..." Kaiba said, looking down the hallway, "Let's get out of here." He was just about to start down the hallway when Aerith stopped him.

"Why go down that way when there's cellar doors right there?" She asked, pointing. The whole group turned to look.

"How come we didn't see those before?" Tristan asked, looking them up and down.

"Because we were so worried about them getting down the slide maybe." Téa answered, looking down the hallway.

"Then let's get outta here!" Joey yelled, pulling on the doors. Aerith sighed when they didn't open.

"Joey?" She asked and he turned around real quick.

"Huh?" He answered.

"The doors push out, not in... at least in most cases." Aerith pointed towards the large, golden padlock and chain around the door's handles, "Anyways, it's got a padlock and steel chain; you couldn't possibly get it open." Joey blushed in embarrassment and turned away. Kaiba sniggered but quickly drove his laughter away.

"Ah, shad up Kaiba!" Joey yelled at him.

"I didn't even say anything, you stupid mutt." Kaiba retorted, walking off down the hallway.

"Where are you going?" Aerith asked him.

"I'm assuming the key's down here." He answered, smirking slightly.

"You're probably assuming wrong but..." Aerith walked off after him. Téa followed them, Yugi right behind her. Tristan and Joey brought up the rear of the group. They reached a split in the hallway all of a sudden and Aerith looked down the right hall for a bit.

"Why do we always end up splitting up?" Tristan asked, looking towards the left hallway.

"It's called a horror story." Aerith replied, "Which means one hallway's got the key and the other has the crazy lady, or the demon, or both."

"Shouldn't we have plugged up that hole?" Yugi asked all of a sudden.

"If she's undead and he's a demon, I don't think we have much to worry about until they decide to join together and kill us." Kaiba said, a tone of sarcasm in his voice.

"Dat really makes me feel better..." Joey said, looking back over his shoulder.

"Relax; we're only six teenagers, why would they want to join up to kill us?" Aerith said, grinning again.

"Three kills each..." Joey replied and Aerith laughed slightly.

"Don't worry." She looked down the right hall, "I'll split us up; me, Kaiba, and Téa down that one and you three down the other. Have fun." She said and walked off. Kaiba shrugged and followed her. Téa looked nervous about leaving the three boys.

"Don't worry Téa; Aerith'll protect ya from anything." Joey said, glaring at Kaiba's back for a second before walking off down the left hall. Yugi nodded and he and Tristan followed Joey. Téa watched after them for a second before following the two taller teens down the right hall.

"He'd better keep his hands off her!" Joey fumed, in a rage.

"Joey, calm down." Yugi said, "Aerith just split us up in a slightly random way probably. She can't like it any more than you do that he's with her. Think of Téa, why would she pick her? It was just kind of random." Tristan sighed.

"He's doesn't even like anyone like that Joey." He said, "So just calm down, it's probably just a coincidence." They were getting towards the room at the end and the conversation was cut short as they peered around the room, "There's no one in here..."

"Does that mean that the key's in this room or is that woman hiding someplace?" Yugi asked nervously.

"She couldn't have gotten here before us." Tristan answered, shaking his head.

"Let's get lookin'." Joey said before yanking a cupboard door open, muttering curses under his breath. Yugi and Tristan joined him.

"Does this mean that that crazy woman's over in the other room?" Aerith asked, pulling cupboard open.

"No, maybe she's coming down the hall..." Kaiba retorted sarcastically, "Maybe you were wrong. We probably ditched her when we fell through the trap door. The demon probably got her." He pulled a drawer open, it was completely empty, like all the cupboards and drawers he'd pulled open so far. He sighed, shutting it, "Is it just me or is something wrong with there being nothing in these drawers?"

"It makes it easier on us." Téa finally joined into the conversation, pulling a lower cupboard drawer open.

"True, true." He answered back, smirking, "It should be at least a **little** harder though..."

"Like booby-trapping all the wrong cupboards and drawers?" Aerith asked sarcastically, pulling a drawer open.

"Oh, no, nothing like that." Kaiba replied.

"If the crazy person was down here, we'd be dead meat." Aerith said, getting his point.

"No, just one or two booby-trapped-" When he pulled open another drawer, a dagger flew straight up, nicking his nose, and stuck into the ceiling.

"You were saying?" Aerith asked, laughing.

"Oh shut up." He snapped back at her, slamming the drawer shut and rubbing at his nose.

"It's not in here!" Joey complained, opening up another cupboard.

"If we find that key, we'll get out of here, keep looking." Yugi replied, pulling open a drawer.

"I know that!" Joey snapped back and Tristan sighed.

"Just leave him alone Yugi, he's just worried that Aerith and Kaiba are getting towards going out..." Tristan said, pulling a cupboard open and a dart went flying past his head. He glared at the dart, which was embedded in the table, "Great some of them are booby-trapped..." He muttered and shut it.

"It's not here, we've looked through every single one of these!" Aerith complained, slamming a cupboard shut and rubbing at the nick on her cheek from a dart that had flown out of an earlier one.

"It's not on the table either." Téa pointed out, "We've gone through every drawer twice and you've gotten nicked about five times each." She said, pointing at the small cuts on the other two teenagers. She received glares from both of them.

"Maybe we ought to go check on the others..." Aerith sighed, walking towards the door.

"Real original..." Kaiba said and Aerith glared at him.

"Real funny." She sharply said back.

"Uh... Aerith, Kaiba?" Téa said, her voice was a squeak compared to the other two.

"Huh?" Aerith looked at her.

"Be- behind you." Téa managed out and Aerith turned quick enough to receive a blow to her ankle. She staggered for a second before falling, her ankle at an odd angle. She cried out in pain and looked up to see the crazy woman standing there. She grinned psychotically again and raised the machete above her head, saying, "It's time for you to die."

"I don't think so."

* * *

DM: A real cliffy! /sobbing/ but it's ending next chapter...

Aerith and Kaiba: Yay!

DM: Shut it up! /demonic eyes/

Kaiba: boo?

DM: /starts sobbing on Kaiba/

Aerith: /muttering/ lucky dog...

Kaiba: What was that?!

Aerith: nothing! Please review for DM's sake and no flames or else I torture someone... /muttering/ Preferably Kaiba...

DM: /quickly stops and looks around/ Aerith! That's not nice! I'll let him torture you!

Aerith: Yipe! /starts running/ Damn my OC status! I'm telling you, I'm gonna be a **real** anime character soon!

DM: /Gives chase/

Kaiba: /sighes/ Just review please. /starts muttering/ just for this to be over quicker...


	5. Last Stand

DM: /crying/ I'm sorry, this is the last chapter!

Aerith: /rolls eyes/ Yeah her mum kept her off the computer for a couple of days so...

Kaiba: /sighs/ And DM doesn't own anything except her character and this story.

DM: /sobbing loudly/ I- I.... /starts hicupping sobs/

Kaiba: /looks at DM weirdly/

Aerith: Since she can't speak... DM would like to thank C.J. again and Devil-girllie for reviewing.

Kaiba: Yeah, she would love to thank you personally but /points at DM/ she's kind of occupied right now...

DM: /sobbing in corner now/ hic... hic... /lightbulb comes on/ I'll write a sequel! /starts towards computer/

Aerith and Kaiba: Noooo! /run at DM/

DM: Yipe! /runs/

* * *

Chapter 5: Last Stand 

Aerith gaped as the woman fell to the ground. Kaiba was standing behind her, a steel pipe in hand. Téa staggered up and ran for the door. Kaiba pulled Aerith to her feet.

"Can you walk?" He asked as she winced in pain.

"Does it look like I can?" She shot back, keeping her foot off the ground.

"Just try." Aerith gently placed her foot on the ground and it went just fine. She then tried putting weight on it and failed, yanking her foot back and standing on one foot again.

"No!" She shouted at him. Kaiba handed her the steel pipe and she looked confused for a second. He swept her up bridal style and ran out of the room. Afraid of falling, she put her arms around his neck. The three of them ran around and ran into the other hallway, down to the other room.

"What da hell's going on?!" Joey shouted, glaring at Kaiba again.

"We were- attacked by- that crazy woman- again..." Téa said, breathing heavily, "She broke- or dislocated- Aerith's ankle."

"You are some stupid idiots!" Aerith yelled, pointing at the table, "That's the first place you look!" A golden key lay on the table, as if it had been there all along. Joey blushed and snatched it off the table. Aerith tried to aim the pipe at Joey's head but he nearly knocked Kaiba to the ground as he ran out and she had to clutch tighter to him so she didn't fall. They ran back down the hall, to the cellar doors. The problem was that someone was standing in front of them.

"Oh shit!" Joey shouted, skidding to a stop, dropping the key, and backing away. The rest of the group nearly ran into him.

"I'm back..." The crazy woman said in a sing-song voice.

"No, no, **no**." Tristan said, looking around for a way to get out. Yugi snatched the key from the ground.

"Oh yes, yes, yes." The woman replied, waving the large knife around before setting her gaze on Kaiba, "I think I'll kill you first for that knock to my head." She said, smiling psychotically. Kaiba gave Aerith to Joey, taking the steel pipe back from her.

"What the hell are you doing?" Aerith hissed at him, grabbing a hold of his shirt sleeve.

"Giving you guys enough time to get out." He answered, pulling himself free of her.

"She'll fucking kill you!" She said and he didn't answer. He put himself into a fighting stance, opposite the woman.

"Go." He said, keeping his eyes on the woman. She laughed.

"You're going to protect yourself with that stupid aluminum pipe?! Don't make me laugh!" She said, pointing her machete at him. He didn't flinch.

"I said go." He repeated, not looking towards them again. They followed his orders this time, going around behind him, to the cellar doors. Aerith reached out for him but Joey ran past Kaiba too quickly for her to get a hold on him. Kaiba smirked as they all got around, "Come and get me... if you can." The woman smiled.

"I will." She answered, looking towards the teens at the door for a second. She suddenly ran at him and swung wildly, unable to correctly handle the weapon. He side-stepped out of the way and nailed her in the back. She staggered as she turned around, completely amazed that he'd landed the hit.

"C' on, Kaiba!" Joey said, receiving stares from the rest of the group. He glared at them, "I'm not allowed ta cheer 'im on so we don' get killed?" He asked and Kaiba gave a snort of laughter. It was just what the woman was looking for and she rushed in, aiming for his neck. He barely managed to get the pipe up in time, being distracted by Joey. The pipe now had a large dent in it but was otherwise fine. Kaiba managed to get away from her and looked at the damage.

"Thanks a lot, mutt." He said to Joey, putting his attention back on the woman.

"Sorry." He replied, slightly white from watching the whole thing.

"**That's** why you don't cheer him on." Tristan commented as Aerith looked around, wanting to help out somehow.

"Hand me that over there." She whispered to Joey and he looked at the wooden block with confusion.

"Whatcha gonna do with dat?" He asked, lowering his voice to a whisper as well. Kaiba parried another blow from the machete while Yugi fumbled with the lock.

"Just give it here." Aerith demanded and he managed to get it without dropping her. She grinned before chucking it at the woman. It landed next to her foot.

"What the hell?" She asked before looking up at Aerith, glaring at her. Aerith grinned and waved stupidly. Kaiba managed to land a couple of blows on her before leaping back, missing the sideways swing of the knife. She glared at him before rushing in again. He parried the knife before nailing her in the head. She staggered back, howling in rage and pain. Blood dripped down her face as she looked back up at Kaiba again. Another wood block came flying from Aerith and Joey's direction and knocked her in the shoulder. The woman turned and took a couple of steps towards them and Kaiba rushed in again, landing a few blows this time before leaping back. Yugi gave a cry of frustration and Téa ran up to help him with the lock.

"Nice shot." Aerith told Joey, grinning.

"Ya had a good idea der, Aerith." He replied, also smiling. Kaiba smirked and parried another blow but this time as he moved to get away, the knife was waiting for him. The woman slashed at his exposed side and connected this time. He cried out, swinging the pipe around, nailing the woman in the side.

"Kaiba!" Aerith yelled out, seeing him holding his side. He held the pipe out in front of him as a defense in case the woman charged him again.

"We've got it!" Téa yelled out, shoving the door back with Yugi. Aerith forced Joey to put her down on the ground and grabbed the largest wooden block yet. She pitched it at the woman's head and it connected, sending the woman to the ground. Tristan dragged Joey up the stairs as Kaiba turned to see who had thrown the projectile. Aerith winced but grinned at him.

"Hurry up, we can't stop the doors from shutting!" Yugi shouted and Kaiba dropped the pipe and swept Aerith up, running for the door.

"No, no, no..." The woman murmured from the ground, trying to get to her feet. Kaiba leapt up the stairs with only a couple of seconds to spare. As he reached the top, the bottom of his trench coat was still between the doors. He turned before it did, pulling the end of the coat out of harm's way, and the doors slammed shut. Aerith's weight threw him off balance though and he fell to the ground, Aerith on top of him again. She grinned as she looked down into his face, placing her elbow square in the middle of his chest, her head on top of it.

"You're not trying to make this a habit, are you?" She asked.

"I hope not..." He replied but she could hear the sarcasm in it. Aerith faked a frown.

"I'm hurt," She sarcastically said but broke into a grin.

"All right, get off him!" Joey said, glaring at the two.

"I've got a dislocated ankle, how?" Aerith said, still grinning, a tone of sarcasm in it.

"You sure it's not broken?" Kaiba asked, smirking and raising his head up a bit. Aerith shoved his head back to the ground.

"I've broken a bone or two before, I've also dislocated my elbow and shoulder a couple of times as well," She smirked back at him, "I know the difference between a dislocation and a break. This-" She jabbed a finger at her foot, "-is a dislocation."

"Sure, sure..." He replied, still smirking.

"Head face-first down in the dirt," Aerith started naming the things that would happen but the grin on her face showed that she wouldn't do them.

"As if." He replied, still smirking, "Someone mind getting her off me, her elbow's digging into me..."

"You're a big baby." Aerith said, rolling her eyes. Joey managed to pull her up and she leaned on his shoulder, still unable to stand on her foot. Kaiba got to his feet and Joey was glaring at him again. Aerith eyed the wound on his side, "You ought to put something on that." She said.

"It isn't that deep." He replied, glancing at it.

"I think it is." Aerith said back.

"Ferris wheel." Someone said.

"Huh?" Most of the group replied, Aerith and Kaiba arguing bitterly about the wound on his side.

"I just want to do that before we leave." Téa said, looking towards it, frowning as she looked back at the others.

"It's probably deeper than it looks!" Aerith said, shaking her fist at Kaiba.

"Your foot is worse than this!" He argued back.

"That cut's ten times worse than my foot, all I've got to do is pop it back into place!" She yelled.

"Then why don't you?!" He shouted, glaring at her, "If it's just that simple, you could've saved me the trouble of carrying you around!"

"It'll hurt like hell!" She replied, shouting as well. Her dislocated foot rested on the ground but no weight on it. Kaiba smirked again and his foot connected with her good foot's shin. Aerith yelped in pain and pulled her leg into the air, putting all her weight on her bad foot. A loud pop was heard and she staggered back, falling to the ground. She glared up at Kaiba, holding her shin with one hand, her ankle with the other, "Jerk." She said icily. She moved her foot around tenderly, seeing if it hurt at all. It didn't and she moved all her attention to her shin, "You could've broken my foot, you stupid idiot."

"At least I won't have to carry you now." He replied, shrugging slightly.

"Crazy bitch." Aerith said back, glaring at him.

"Stupid whore." He shot at her, glaring back. Aerith stood up, shoving Joey's hand away.

"Stop, stop, **stop**!" Téa said, looking at the two before smiling slightly, "Stop, or we'll shove you onto the Ferris Wheel **together**, beside each other in the seats."

"You wouldn't dare." Aerith said and Téa just smiled, her smile actually looked a bit like Aerith's when she was messing with Kaiba or Joey.

"I would dare." Téa replied, still grinning or rather smirking. Aerith lost the angry look on her face and stared for a second.

"I think she's serious." Tristan said, looking confused. Aerith glanced at Kaiba and sighed.

"All right, I'll stop but if he starts the argument, I swear I'm not responsible for what happens." Aerith said, stuffing her hands into her pockets.

"That's better... Kaiba?" Téa looked up at Kaiba, smiling still. He looked from her to Aerith a couple of times.

"All right, I'll agree to this... she's the one who starts the fights though and I can't be held accountable for what I say or do." He finally said.

"Okay, the rest of us will go ride the Ferris wheel and you can stand out at the front gate if you don't want to ride." Téa went back to her usual smile, still receiving strange looks from the rest of the gang.

"Damn straight I'm not going on that stupid ride." Aerith muttered, walking away. Kaiba followed her, muttering something under his breath.

"Excuse me?" Téa said, that smile back on her face.

"Nothing." Both teens answered and kept walking away, faster this time.

"Why are you always following me?" Aerith asked Kaiba, glaring over at him.

"I could ask the same of you." He replied, glaring back.

"Forget it..." She rolled her eyes, but they fell on his wound again, "You should really put something on that..."

"And what if I don't?" He shot back and she gave a sigh of frustration.

"You don't have to be such a jerk about everything." Aerith said, keeping her voice low but it was strangled, as if she wanted to scream it at him.

"Oh, I really didn't notice anything..." Kaiba replied sarcastically, smirking again. They were nearly to the front gate, still having their slight argument.

"Do you like pushing my buttons for fun or does it just let you have someone to take your anger out on?" Aerith asked. His eyes narrowed and she smirked, seeing his face.

"Do you want me to fight with you, or is all this funny to you?" He said, clenching his fists to calm himself. Aerith shot a glare at him as they got out of the front gate unnoticed by the guards.

"I swear you can be so stupid sometimes," She said quietly, "Why would I **want** to start a fight that **I'd** win?" She grinned again and he glared at her.

"More like a fight **you'd** loose." He said and the two of them leaned up against the black metal bars far enough away from the entrance and exit to not be seen.

"Téa was right, this is going to get us nowhere..." Aerith sighed, putting her hands behind her head and stared up at the night sky.

"At least she can't go through with her threat of the Ferris Wheel ride..." Kaiba admitted, smirking again. Aerith laughed.

"That's true." She said, grinning, "That would be horrible..." She heard a slight snicker out of Kaiba and turned to look. She shook her head, "Like I've said before, I do wonder about you sometimes..."

"I don't think you do." He answered, "You don't care."

"Then why was I throwing those blocks at that woman?" Aerith slapped a hand over her own mouth and mentally cursed herself.

"Then why do we fight all the time?" He asked her and she couldn't come up with an answer.

"Because... we're... uh..." She stuttered, unable to think of anything, "We're too alike? ...I don't know!" She finally said, glaring up at the sky.

"Hm..." Kaiba replied, also looking up, "maybe..." Aerith finally gave another frustrated sigh and looked over at him.

"Maybe what?" She asked, looking pissed off again.

"I was agreeing with you." He answered calmly and she was thrown for a loop. Aerith looked back up at the sky and thought for a while, falling silent.

"You know..." She started up again, "even people who are best friends fight sometimes..." Kaiba looked over at her.

"Best friends, huh?" He smirked and she nodded.

"Yeah, and rivals fight and argue bitterly. We're... sorta both." Aerith shrugged, grinning, looking down at the ground before up at him, "I never would've figured I'd- say something- like that... but..." She trailed off, seeing how close he actually was.

"Neither would I... You always hated me." Kaiba replied, smirking again.

"You always got me so confused, you'd say something one minute and do something else the next..." Aerith shook her head, the short hairs that she'd brushed away with her part falling back into her face, "You just practically begged to be teased in my opinion..." She snickered for a second, "I know you only yelled back because I said everything first and then we'd end up fighting..." She let a light laugh escape her, "This is insane..." She looked away, back up at the sky, "I forgot to thank you for rescuing me all those times; in the kitchen when I screwed up with my name; running back down that hall and I slipped; tying up my arm- both times," She lifted her arm up; the bandage was still wrapped tightly around the wound and she dropped it back down to her side, "Dragging me off down the hall when my feet froze up..." She paused to chuckle at the next one, "The dancing thing was embarrassing but you saved everyone's necks there..."

"I guess I did." He gave a quiet laugh.

"You yanked me up from the floor when I nearly got my head chopped off to avoid that crazy woman having a second shot at trying." Aerith continued, "When she dislocated my ankle in the cellar, you knocked her upside the head with the pipe and carried me to where the others were... Then you fought her with that pipe against a machete... which was kind of stupid but brave." She shook her head again, "You've done too much to repay..."

"You've forgotten something..." Kaiba said, looking away from her and looking towards the city, "You're the one who stabbed that... I don't even know if I could call him a man- but you're the one who stabbed him in the arm before he choked me." Aerith looked over at him as he went on, "You practically helped everyone when the three of us couldn't move that stupid sofa..."

"It had concrete on the bottom..." Aerith said, laughing at the expression on his face.

"Who would want to put concrete on the bottom of a sofa?" He asked and Aerith put a hand over her mouth to muffle her laughter.

"Like you said," She managed to say, "the people who built that place were really screwed up in the head..."

"That's right. There's practically no stairs that go down and you have a three story, **vertical** drop to the basement, which, might I add, was very uncalled for." Aerith thought for a second, falling silent, and he went on, "Back on the subject, you were throwing those wooden blocks at that woman when I was fighting against her-"

"I hate to do this; but Joey threw one of those." Aerith interrupted and waited for the reaction. There was a long silence before Kaiba started again.

"I wouldn't expect that out of him." He said, looking back at Aerith. She grinned.

"Neither would I, but he did root for you for a second there. You heard what he said, he was only doing it so that the woman wouldn't get the chance to attack us... You were still pretty brave there." Aerith shook her head again, letting more hair fall into her face.

"Do you think that they're done yet?" Kaiba asked, looking towards the Ferris Wheel. Aerith laughed again.

"Téa probably dragged them on it again..." Aerith chuckled, looking towards it as well. It was spinning slowly around at the moment, the side flicking different things across it.

"You think she did that on purpose?"

"Did what?" Aerith turned to look at him again and found his eyes on her.

"Shoving us off together?" Kaiba asked, smirking again.

"She might have. She probably only threatened us with the Ferris Wheel ride only to stop us from arguing while we were with them..." Aerith answered, smiling, "Are you hinting at what I think you are?"

"Maybe. You did say before that I would say one thing and do another." He replied.

"You were a very confusing person..." Aerith laughed, looking away again, and some of her hair fell over her shoulder, adding to what was all ready in her face. She sighed, trying to blow it back, "I knew my part would give me trouble..."

"Part?" Kaiba asked, slightly confused before he saw all the hair in her face. He smirked again and reached up, brushing her hair back. Aerith looked at him, surprised.

"You feeling okay?" She joked, smiling again. Kaiba was still smirking as he answered.

"I'm fine." He put his arm around her and she completely turned to face him, surprised.

"You sure?" She asked again.

"Completely." He responded before kissing her on the lips. Aerith was shocked beyond words and went as stiff was a board for a bit. She came back to herself for a second and tried to pull back, failing, her body didn't want to move a millimeter away from him. She suddenly put her arms around his neck, her eyes shut, smiling slightly and kissing back. He put his other arm around her, pulling her closer.

"Uh... Aerith? Kaiba?" Someone asked and their eyes flew open. The rest of the group stood not too far away from them, staring slightly. They jerked back from each other and both, being unbalanced, fell to the ground.

"Jerk!" Aerith said, glaring at him.

"Whore!" Kaiba shot back, also glaring. With that, they got into another argument before Yugi and Téa broke it up.

"The sooner we get out of here, the better!" Tristan remarked to a fuming Joey.

"He- she- they-" Joey stuttered in anger, giving Kaiba a death glare, "they- he- ... Ugh!" Kaiba's limo pulled up next to them and Kaiba gave one last glare at Aerith before getting in. She spit towards him and the limo, glaring still.

"Aerith, we've all got to get in..." Téa whispered to her.

"I don't care! I'll walk!" Aerith responded before stomping off back towards town.

"Oh boy..." Tristan muttered, rolling his eyes. Yugi and Téa watched Aerith for a second.

"They like each other, it's obvious, why can't they just admit it?" Téa wondered out-loud but not loud enough that either teen could hear.

"Get in or walk." Kaiba's cold voice came from the limo. Téa and Yugi sighed before going back to get in, Aerith nearly fading into the darkness.

"Like hell I'm-" Joey started but Tristan cut him off.

"You're going to walk over a mile to get back to town and refuse a ride in a limo?" He asked, walking towards the limo.

"But Aerith-" Joey started to argue.

"We'll get her on the way back." Téa claimed, glancing towards Kaiba. He was sitting opposite everyone, glaring at Aerith's fading form and muttering under his breath occasionally. Joey sighed but got in, sitting between Tristan and Téa. The limo moved and rolled slowly beside Aerith. Kaiba was still glaring at her and she acted as if the limo wasn't even there. Téa slipped from her seat and rolled the window down enough to where Aerith could see her. She muttered quietly to her for a bit before Aerith stopped fully and gave her an disbelieving look, the limo stopped along with her. Téa gave the Aerith-like smirk again and kept talking. Aerith sighed and hung her head for a second, giving the look of defeat. Téa opened the door and Aerith got in, sitting across from everyone, but opposite of Kaiba as well. The limo drove away, back towards the city.

* * *

DM: /bound and gagged/ 

Aerith: /brushing hands off/ well, she won't write another chapter of **this**!

Kaiba: /also brushing hands off/ Got that right.

DM: /laughing/

Aerith: /raises eyebrow/ What the hell?

Kaiba: /reaches over to undo the mouth gag/

DM: /still laughing/ Authoress powers... /lights go out and after a second they come back on, showing a smirking DM not bound at all/

Aerith and Kaiba: /bound and gagged together/

DM: /kicks Aerith/ stupid OC /smiles at Kaiba evilly/ Hit the review button please. I may not do anything for a while, so please, forgive me if I don't.

Aerith: /kicks Kaiba out of frustration/

Kaiba: /kicks Aerith back in revenge/

DM: /laughes again/ Please review before I sick... the crazy lady on both of them.

Aerith and Kaiba: /look horrifed/

DM: /snaps fingers and plexiglass bos appears with the crazy woman inside/

Aerith and Kaiba: /yelling and screaming/

DM: /smirks again/ please review.


End file.
